Reactor's Children
by HelenTheMoon
Summary: What if the efects of Zero Reverse also affected the humen? What if Yusei knew his parent's story all along? What if people gave up on Synchro monsters and threw them at the Satelitte? OOC There is also Dr. Fudo and an OC. Slow updates.
1. A rose that bloomed

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds**

"MONSTER!". "WITCH!". "Stay away from us, freak!". "Mark-girl!". Aki was crying. Because they were right. Those children and those adults were right. They always were. That's what she was. A girl marked by the Ener-D Reactor, marked by the Zero Reverse. As long as she had the claw of the Crimson Dragon engraved in her arm, as long as she had her Psychic powers, she would always be a monster, the very incarnation of the disaster brought by a failed experiment.

Everybody knew what had happened that fateful day. The original Ener-D Reactor had gone out of control and the head researcher, Dr Fudo did not shut it down. The energy released was enough to severe Domino City in two parts, kill thousands of people, result to the birth of hundreds psychic duelists with their fearsome and dangerous to the innocent public, and mark the ones that were destined to activate that power again.

People in New Domino City were always trying to desperately to separate themselves from the curse lingering in the underground of Satellite, a curse pouring out of that wretched machine. As soon as they realized what happened, they cut all connections they had with the residents of that devastated island. They refused all help when asked; instead, they made them all suffer, so much that they would never duel again, they would never use Synchroes again, so they could never give power to that reactor. The citizens of New Domino City dumped all their Synchro monsters to Satellite, and started searching for other options. They taught their children to hate Satellite, the Reactor, the Synchro monsters and everything related to them.

So why was a girl born with the power of the wretched machine infused into her very core? Why was she born in New Domino City? And such a good family, the Izayois in top of that! What people saw in her was a dark omen signaling the coming of a disaster. All the marks of the destruction were on her, for everyone to see. A time bomb.

Those were the thoughts pondering into Aki' s head, as she was crying in the middle of the park, with her head between her knees, her despair deeming her unable to defend herself from the shoes and rocks that the other children were aiming at her. _Why me, why me, _"**WHY ME?**". This time, it was a scream.

"Freak!". "Witch!". "Why does such a creature live among us?" "You should be ashamed that your alive, demon!". She cried even harder.

"Do you have a problem with this girl?", asked a cold, calm voice. It was quiet, but demanded silence, attention. It was a voice to be obeyed. Everyone slowly turned their heads to the source of that voice, and Aki dared to look up.

All that could be heard was the distant traffic from the road, as a lone figure made its appearance. It was a boy, around eleven years old, with raven hair which would remind of a crab, if it wasn't for the fact that they were well past his shoulder blades. His hair had a gold color at the end and gold highlights. His clothing was eccentric. A royal blue, short-sleeved jacket with black trimmings and amber-colored jewels, a black T-shirt with a red design like practice target for shooting, which had its left sleeve reaching all the way down to the wrist, while the other was missing, brown leather fingerless gloves, dark grey jeans and green sneakers. His face behind his bangs was hard to make out, but one could easily see the stunning color of his eyes; an incredibly bright royal blue that was illuminating those too mature for his age eyes with determination. However, only his left eye was visible. The other one was hidden by his chin length bangs, but even if one did try to see it, they would only see bandages wrapped around that eye as well. His right arm was also wrapped with bandages, from his wrist to all the way up to the shoulder, but there was no indication of an injury. He had a Battle City-like Duel disk strapped across his back. For an eleven-years-old boy, he had quite the intimidating appearance.

The boy's gaze turned towards the small crowd currently staring at him, as they had unconsciously formed a wide circle with him and Aki in the centre. Some random passengers stopped to see what the commotion was all about.

The boy stood there for a few moments, as still as a sculpture, without making a sound. "Well?", he asked, and if it was not so quiet, he wouldn't be heard. "Why are you hurting her?". Nobody dared to breathe. Something told them that it may was not such a good idea to anger him, if the sudden pressure in the air was anything to go by.

Well, not everyone had that opinion. "Who do you think you are brat?", asked a man among the crowd. "We are going to do whatever we want to with that monster!".

"Why are you calling her a monster?".

"Are you blind?", asked an older child, probably older by three or four years. "She has-"

"…the Foot Claw of the Crimson Dragon on her right arm, which indicates that she is a Signer. She also has high-level psychic abilities. So what?".

Nobody answered.

The boy sighted. "What is your name?", he asked her.

"I-Izayoi A-Aki…".

"Aki, huh?", he murmured, not quite addressing to anyone. "Why aren't you wearing any shoes?".

"Eh!?". Aki was caught off guard by the sudden question. She flushed a little red. "Eto… Mama and Papa never let me go out, so they never bought me any shoes…". She did not notice the boy's eye narrow. _So that's how they treat her…_

"So you went out on your own.". A small nod. "Do you like it outside?". Another node, but this time, it was a negative one. "Why not?", he asked, continuing his efforts to make the girl open up.

"People… are yelling at me.". She looked so small there, the boy could not help but feel pity for the little girl curled on the soil.

He kneed and leaned close to her, so she wouldn't feel so intimidated. "If people weren't yelling at you, would you like it outside?".

"Y-yeah…". She took a little breath and continued. "There are many flowers here! I really like flowers!". On a split second she was on her feet jumping up and down as if she wasn't crying like half a minute ago.

"Eh, you like them!?", he asked, totally awestruck by the 180 degrees change of attitude, the crowd along with him.

"Hm!", she nodded excitedly, "And my favorites are roses!". _Now, what are the chances?_, thought the boy in a corner of his mind.

He searched in the hidden pocket under his jacket for a card he was very familiar with, but there was no point to put it in his deck. It didn't fit with any of his cards; and besides, he just knew that this card had just found its rightful owner. "Then how about taking this card?", he asked her, handing it over with a smile.

The little girl took the card with her two little hands and looked at it. "Black… Rose… Dragon…?".

"She's pretty, isn't she?".

"But it's a Synchro monster!". Aki was now panicking.

"You don't have to worry.", he told her reassuringly, patting her head. "Not all Synchro monsters are bad. Most of them are just cards. As for the rest, many of them are good and there are also some bad cards. But be sure that Black Rose dragon is a very good girl.".

Aki nodded, understanding. "Are you using Synchro monsters too?", she asked.

"Yeah, lots.", he admitted.

"What is your name, sir?". There was something in her voice that the boy couldn't quite put his finger into it, but he knew that she really wanted to know.

"It's Yusei."

"Yusei-nichan…", she started, slightly shocking him with her form of address, "will you take me with you? Please!?…"

There was such eagerness in her eyes, a light full of hope that was illuminating those wide chocolate brown orbs. Yusei found himself nodding. He took her an a piggy back ride. "Yeah. You can come with me.".


	2. It's all about the deck

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds.**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

The workers at the junkyard had long since they learned about that cursed, orange haired boy wandering around the scrap piles every day. The boy cursed with one of marks of the Crimson Dragon.

Well, the new guy didn't know about him."Hey, what's up with that brat?", he asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

"Not of your business.", shot back the track driver, a rather bulky man with a mustache. That effectively shut the newbie's mouth. The truck driver sighted. The boy wasn't known only for its mark, it was also known for its incredibly weird luck as well.

A luck Crow wasn't sure whether he should curse it to Hell or thank God for it. Thank God because all the cards he was finding belonged in the same archetype, so he could build a decent deck very easily; a very hard task in the Satellite. Curse it to Hell because said archetype was the N. 1 fastest Synchro monsters archetype, the Black Feathers.

His friends didn't know of that deck. Crow knew that he should keep the true nature of his deck hidden at all costs. He still remembered that day when he first took that lesson.

_The little nameless boy was walking down the street full of excitement, admiring the two cards he had found at the junkyard. The first card was a level three monster which looked like a bird: Dark blue feathers which turned green on its head, big eyes and a beak like a parrot. It looked kinda cute. The other one was a level four monster; also a bird, but with a more humanoid appearance. Yet not much. Dark blue feathers, with red feathers on its head and very long yellow ones as some sort of a beard. It also had two arms that held firmly a huge, menacing-looking black lance. The nameless boy was very happy for his first two cards. He wanted to become a duelist more than anything and this was like a dream coming true for him._

_Suddenly three other boys showed up. All three of them were quite bigger and older than the little boy, and from the looks of it, they were all bullies. "Hey, you!", one of them yelled, startling the nameless boy. "Are those Duel Monsters cards?". They didn't wait for an answer as they swiftly approached the scared boy. "Let me take a look at them, to see if they are safe."._

"_H-hai…", said the kid, and he handed them over. Those boys apparently were looking for Synchro monsters in order to destroy them._

"_Let's see…", the leader started the examination. "Black Feather – Bora the Spear; level four, Dark, Winged-Beast, 1700 attack, 800 defense, inflicts piercing damage and special summons itself…". The boys face lit up. "That's a pretty good card you got there!", he exclaimed with a wide grin, handing it back. The nameless boy was really happy to hear that. Not only he had gotten a card, it was a good one too!_

"_Em, Tom…", said one of the other boys, very nervous. "I think I have heard of Black Feathers before…"._

_With that the nameless boy got very nervous. Were Black Feathers famous? Was that a good or a bad thing? He was so nervous that his arm was itching._

_The group leader, now known as Tom started examining and the second card, oblivious to how nervous the two other kids were. "And this card is… Black Feather – Gale of the Whirlwind; level three, Dark, Winged beast… well, they are the same archetype… _Wait._". His musings came to a halt. His expression grim. "Does this say 'Tuner'?"._

_Everyone jerked up "A TUNER!?". "Let's get rid of this thing!". And they tore the card._

_The nameless boy's mind went numb. _No… This can't be happening… They destroyed the card… No, no, no, _**"NO!"**__._

_Little did he know what his sadness caused. He didn't notice the splitting pain tearing through his arm. He didn't notice the light pouring out of the newly attained mark. He didn't notice. He didn't notice the boys screaming in fearing, dropping the card and running away. He didn't even notice the same card being engulfed into the same red glow and fixing itself. All he wanted was to get his card back._

_He drifted into unconsciousness. A dream came to his mind. A grand monster, a mix of a bird and a dragon, roaring in all its glory, embracing him with a sense of comfort and power that he had never felt before._

_The boy slowly woke up, trying to recall what had just happened. He somehow felt different. He took a look at his arm and received his answer. There was now on his arm a mark in the colour of dried blood. The Tail of the Crimson Dragon. He then took a look around him and saw that the card was no longer torn. To his immense shock he also found out that now he could actually read them._

_Everything suddenly became clear to him. He was a Signer, someone marked by the Ener-D Reactor. Those cards belonged to the Black Feather Archetype, the fastest Synchro monsters, and not only, deck. And his name was Crow Hogan._

Soon after that Crow had found a piece of fabric to hide his mark with and continued searching for cards. He stuck around a group of kids to learn how to duel, but he never told them that he had his own cards. Instead of that, he was practicing on his own on other people, usually bullies or Synchro Hunters, who were after his deck. He was lucky because people in Satellite never had strong decks. Everybody despised Synchro monsters, and with the people in the City keeping all the good cards for themselves, the Satellite residents had only the most useless and old cards to work with. The few who dared to pick up a Synchro monster were powerful, but the only one who he had encountered so far proved to be a partner in crime, and soon they ended up hunting the Hunters together. After all, as he himself had found out, Synchro monsters could cause real damage.

Crow snapped off his musings and continued searching for cards in the scrap pile. He had already spotted a Trap card and now he was throwing aside the trash in order to get it. When all those garbage were finally out of the way, he grabbed the card and examined it carefully. As expected, it was another support card of the Black Feather archetype. It's artwork consisted of Black Feather – Vayu the Emblem of Honor engulfed by black lightning with green outlines. _Black Thunder; when a Black Feather monster you control is destroyed in battle, deal your opponent 400 points of damage for every card he/she controls. _"Nice!", exclaimed Crow happily. "This is a sweet card!". Suddenly he realized how much time he had spent there looking for cards. "Oh, no! The others must be looking for me!". And he sprinted out of the junkyard.

He ran to the usual hangout of his friends at full speed, only to be stopped dead in his tracks at the sight in front of him. Someone had beaten up everyone! "What happened?", he yelled in agony.

"What happened is that this place is now _our _territory!", said someone. Crow turned around to face the strangers. Those guys were obviously older than each one of them. _A card-stealing Duel Gang!_, Crow realized. "Do you have any cards?", asked their leader, confirming Crow's suspicions. "Cause I don't think so.". Crow sighted in relief. He didn't like the idea of his Black Feathers being taken _at all_. "_But._" Crow jerked up. "since you don't have any, I'll be taking all the cards of your friends!".

"_Say what!?_".

"Crow-kun…", gasped one of his friends laying down on the street.

Crow got pissed. "Hey, why don't you check out my cards for yourself!?", he challenged and brought out his deck. He knew that he should hide his Black Feathers, but there was no way he lets the cards of his friends get stolen by some punks!

The fallen boys felt shocked. _But Crow didn't have a deck_, they all thought.

"Alright, birdbrain!", exclaimed the bully. "Let's see what a little brat like you has. Hey, you!", he turned to one of his lackeys. "Bring here two Duel Discs!". Crow's eyebrows shot up to his hair when he saw the two Battle City-type Duel Discs. Where did they get them from?

The gang leader threw the Duel Disc at Crow, who caught in on the air, and nearly lost his balance due to the weight. He secured the Duel Disc around his arm. _I just hope I won't have to use Synchroes in front of them,_ he thought. He noticed that one of the boys was helping the leader of the gang adjust his own Duel Disc as well. _Or more like serve him_, he thought disgusted.

They both drew five cards, and Crow felt his confidence rising.

"Let's Duel!".

"Let's Dance!".

(Crow – 4000 / Bully – 4000)

"Dance?", asked the bully mockingly. "You got some confidence there brat! I draw!"

(Turn 1 – bully)

"I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!". The old classic monster emerged from the typical ring of light provided by the Solid Vision. The warrior with the long black hair and the golden-purple shield fell on one knee and turned blue; a clear indication of his defensive status (100/2600). "I end my turn!", he announced, throwing down a facedown. "Now let's see what _you _got.".

"Alright, let's do this!", yelled Crow. "My turn. I draw!".

(Turn 2: Crow – 4000 / bully – 4000)

Crow took a glance at the card and a smirk got formed on his face. "Sweet! I summon Black Feather – Bora the Spear in attack mode!".The strange birdman with the lance showed up and landed on a fighting stance, excited to be summoned (1700/800). "And since I have a Black Feather on my field, I can special summon this feathered friend from my hand.". Crow grabbed the card and slammed it on his Duel Disc. "Black Feather – Gale of the Whirlwind, welcome on stage!". The green-headed bird flied out of the light circle with a hoot and took its place not on the field, but on Crow's head; its favorite sitting spot. "Oi, Gale!", complained Crow. "Don't go sitting on me, I'm trying to duel here. My hair aren't your nesting spot!". The audience sweat dropped at the sight of Crow ruffling his hair like a maniac to get rid of the black-and-green parrot.

"You sure are a weirdo there!", mocked his opponent. "But just because you summoned two of your kin, it doesn't mean that you can get rid of mu Big Shield Gardna! Your monsters' attack points and my Gardna's defense points are worlds apart!".

"Not in my book!", answered Crow, finally free from his monster. "Cause now I activate Gale of the Whirlwind's special ability!", he announced with a wide grin. "Once per turn, I can cut the attack and defense points of one of your monsters in half!". Gale swung its wings two blade-like air currents struck on the shield of the monster across the field. Big Shield Gardna groaned in pain as his defense points took a serious hit (2600 – 1300). "Now, Bora the Spear attacks Big Shield Gardna! And when my pal over here attacks a monster in defense mode, you take the difference as damage!".

"I activate my facedown.", interrupted the bully. "Mirror Force!".

"_Crap!_", muttered Crow as he sent the two destroyed monsters to his Graveyard. He examined his hand and took a deep breath. "I set two cards facedown. Big Shield Gardna's attack and defense points turn back to normal at the End Phase. (1300 – 2600) I end my turn.".

(Turn 3: Crow – 4000 / bully – 4000)

"I draw!", yelled the bully with a malicious (for him anyway) smirk. "And from my hand I activate Cost Down! This card reduces the level of all monsters in my hand by two! Next, I summon Amphibian Beast in attack mode!". A green, humanoid fish which looked like it had popped out of some old-fashioned horror movie made its appearance with a wet sound (2400/2000). "Normally I would have to sacrifice one monster on my field, but with Cost Down I can summon this guy for free!".

Crow scowled. _He must have stolen cards from countless kids if he managed to build such a good deck with Satellite cards._ That's exactly the type of person that Crow hated.

The bully continued. "Then I equip my monster with Horn of the Unicorn! With this, my Amphibian Beast gets a power boost of 700 attack and defense points!". A golden horn made its appearance on the fishman's head, and Crow couldn't help but think how weird that sight was (2400 – 3100). "Go, Amphibian Beast!", the bully yelled. "Attack that birdbrain directly!".

Said birdbrain didn't waste a second. "From my hand, I activate the special ability of Black Feather – Chibli the Searing Wind!", he snapped. "When I'm attacked, directly, I can special summon it from my hand!". The small bird came out of the light ring on the ground, with its six wings stretched wide open in order to protect their owner (0/1600). Its black and red feathers turned into a dull blue for a split moment before the golden horn came in contact with the bird's chest and broke it into light fragments.

"Ha ha! All you can do is defend yourself, huh?", mocked the bully one again, appearing unshaken from the sudden defense. But his thoughts were different. _What's up with this brat's deck? I've never heard of Black Feathers before!_

"I activate my Trap!", announced Crow, surprising the other boy. "Black Thunder!". The Trap that Crow had found earlier that day showed its face to the opponent. "Since you destroyed one of my Black Feathers in battle, you take 400 points of damage for every card you have on your field!".

"Say _what_!?". The bully's cards burst into black and green electricity, which flied towards him and hit him on his chest, effectively dealing him 1200 points of damage (Bully: 4000 – 2800). "I-I end my turn.", he managed between pants. _What the hell is going on? I almost _felt _that!_

"Alright, meatball!", yelled Crow. "Here. I. Come!". And he drew his card.

(Turn 4: Crow – 4000 / bully – 2800)

"I activate Pot of Greed. This lets me draw two cards.". Crow examined his new hand, and a plan formed in his mind. He tried to hide his smirk as he set that plan into motion. "I activate Graceful Charity! This lets me draw three more cards, but I have to send two cards from my hand to the Graveyard.". He gave up all tries to hide his smirk as he discarded the two cards of his choice.

"Ha!", laughed his opponent. "What good are some extra cards gonna do to you? Your fiels is wide open. All you got is a facedown!".

"Not for long!".

"Huh?".

Crow snatched the card from his hand. "When I have no monsters on my field while you do, I can special summon Black Feather – Sirocco the Dawn from my hand!". The birdman with the black and red poncho came out and took his position on the field (2000/900).

"That's a strong monster, but it's no match for my Amphibian Beast.".

"True, but birds and feathers flock together, and you're at the wrong side of the nest. I activate the special ability of Black Feather – Zephyros the Elite from my Graveyard!".

"Eh!? When did you get _that _card in there?".

"When I played Graceful Charity!", Crow answered back, a wide grin on his face. This duel was his! "By returning a card from my field to my hand, and taking 400 points of damage, I can special summon him!". The familiar ring of light formed and Zephyros the Elite made his appearance (1600/1000). The birdman had long sky blue feathers on his head, and his wing had sky blue edges. He was wearing a golden and red armor with green gemstones, and the rest of his feathers were black; Zephyros had really a royal air. Red lightning slammed Crow as a cost for his monster's summoning. (Crow: 4000 – 3600)

"Another birdman.", said the bully. "So what.".

Crow ignored him. "I activate Sirocco's special ability! Once per turn, I can choose one of the Black Feather monsters on my field and add it the attack points of all the other of my Black Feathers. And I choose Zephyros!".

"But! But that means that now Zephyros the Elite has 3600 attack points!".

"Exactly! Go, Zephyros!". The armored birdman sliced through Amphibian Beast with his claws, and it roared in pain as it got destroyed. (bully: 2800 – 2300).

"You little…!".

"When I activate this special ability, the rest of my monsters can't attack, so I place one card face down and end it here. Also, when Zephyros is summoned due to his own effect, if I set a facedown, he gets destroyed.".

The bully regained his composure. "When the monster equipped with Horn of the Unicorn is destroyed, Horn of the Unicorn return to the top of my deck.".

"I end my turn.".

"And I draw!".

(Turn 5: Crow – 3600 / bully – 2300)

_I'm gonna beat him!_, thought the bully. _I'M GONNA BEAT HIM!_ "From my hand, I activate Monster Reborn! This brings back my Amphibian Beast! And now, I sacrifice my two monsters!". Crow's eyebrows shot up in surprise. _What is he going to summon!? _"I summon Rabidragon!". Said dragon emerged in the field.

Crow blinked once. Twice. And then… "BUAHAHAHAHA! What _is _this thing? This must be the most ridiculous dragon I've ever seen! Haha! Nice one dude! You really caught me off-guard there…", he whipped the tears off his eyes.

"You birdbrain jerk!", snapped the gang leader, vein popping. "Take a look at its attack points!".

Crow took a glance and his laugh stopped as if someone had turned off the power of a stereo. "**2950!?**", he gawked.** "**Why the hell does a mutant rabbit has so many attack points!?".

"My dragon isn't a mutant rabbit! And besides, you're not one to talk!", shot back the gang leader.

"What's _that _supposed to mean!?".

"You have been playing all those mutant birdmen all this time!".

"My Black Feathers aren't mutant birdmen! It's_ your_ deck that looks like it came out of a horror story!".

"So my cards scare you!".

"Like hell they are!".

The audience could only sweatdrop.

"I told you that my Rabidragon is so scary that you are gonna shit your pants in fear!", continued the gang leader. "And to make sure of that, I now equip my dragon with Horn of the Unicorn!".

"_About time those two start dueling again…"._

"_Yeah…"._

"With that, Rabidragon's attack points become 3650!".

"You still had that card!?".

"_Don't tell me he forgot about Horn of the Unicorn's effect…"._

"_It looks like he did…"._

"Now, Rabidragon attacks Black Feather – Sirocco the Dawn!". The white-furred dragon with the gold horn that was previously on Amphibian Beast slammed Sirocco the Dawn with its paw, destroying him instantly. Crow lost his balance and almost fell down from the major hit in his life points. (Crow: 3600 – 1950)

"I end my turn!", announced the bully.

"And it was your last!", yelled Crow as he drew his card.

(Turn 6: Crow – 1950 / bully – 2300)

"I activate my facedown! Black Feather – Backlash!".

"What now!?".

"When I have five Black Feathers in the Graveyard, I get to destroy every card on your field!".

"**WHAT!?**". Rabidragon blew up as if it were filled with explosives, and the kids present nearly fell of their feet from the shockwave. _No way! This guy can actually deal real damage!_, some thought. _No wondering he never showed us his deck!_

"Next, I normal summon Black Feather – Blizzard of the Far North!". The white seabird made its appearance, and sat on Crow's Duel Disc as if it was a tree branch (1300/0). It started tapping the Duel Disc with its beak. "When I normal summon this bird, I get to special summon a level four or below Black Feather from my Graveyard in defense mode. Welcome back, Zephyros!". For once again Zephyros rose from the Graveyard and took a dull blue colour (1600/1000). "I switch Zephyros in attack mode. Now, Blizzard, Zephyros; finish him off!". Both the monsters struck the bully with their attacks, and sent him flying a few meters back before finishing off the last of his life points (bully: 2300 – 0). The duel was over.

Awe filled the kids. Crow smiled with a huge, jovial grin. "I WON!".

And he continued cheering, completely oblivious to the shadowy figure watching him from the alley. "So the name is Crow, huh. That's easy to remember… Looks like you and I have something in common.".

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

To say that Rex Goodwin was anxious would be an understatement. Those were indeed very troubling news. Izayoi Aki had ran away from her parent's house and vanished. This sudden disappearance was just another brick on the ever-raising wall of problems that Rex Goodwin was facing. And most of those problems had a name-tag writing 'Satellite' on them. For a few years now there was absolutely no signal coming from Satellite. There was no security, no energy readings, no news, no nothing. Like someone had erased Satellite from the map. The only thing that was connecting Satellite to New Domino City in all aspects was the trash pipeline, and that didn't mean much.

Another problem were the rumors about Satellite. Even though Goodwin knew as a fact that people in Satellite hated Synchro monsters even more than those in New Domino City, there were just those people who had to ruin the image; people who not only they did not hate Synchro monsters, but they had even built old-powerful Synchro decks that – if the rumors were anything to go by – they had truly pushed the capabilities of Synchro monsters to the limits. The duo which was wrestling against the Hunters. The woman who went by the title 'Dragon Empress'. And let's not forget about the Bandaged Star Rider, as they liked to call him. All those were people that Goodwin had no information on. But the Bandaged Star Rider… Why had Goodwin the feeling that he _knew _him from somewhere?

Anyway, now to the matter at hand; where was Izayoi Aki?

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Izayoi Aki was currently in the Satellite with Fudo Yusei searching for cards at the junkyard.

"So, Aki. What kind of deck do you want? Something that goes with your new dragon?", asked Yusei. He had Aki sitting on his shoulders, and his long hair moved aside so she wasn't bothered by them.

"Hm!", she nodded excitedly. "I want a rose deck!".

Yusei snickered a little. "You really like roses, don't you?", he commented. "But don't forget; there are other flowers than roses.".

"Then let's look for all of them!", she decided with a brilliant smile.

"Alright then.", he agreed with a small smile on his own. "Let's search for the cards you want and then we can go to the Base to find the rest of them, okay?".

"What is the Base?", asked Aki, filled with curiosity.

"It's the place where I'm staying at, along with a friend of mine.".

"I will make a new friend!", the girl exclaimed happily.

The two of them spent the next few hours looking for plant-related cards, with larger success than Yusei had at first anticipated. Then again, without Synchro monsters, plant-type monsters were nothing but weaklings, so it was not to wonder that the people of New Domino were throwing them away.

When they were finally done, Yusei grabbed his old bike, let Aki sit on the back seat – which originally was used for carrying luggage – and went for the base.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

"I'm heading out.", announced the blond boy, as he grabbed his deck and Duel Disc and rushed out of the orphanage.

"Jack!", yelled Martha, the nun that was running the place. "Where are you going at this hour? It's already late!".

"I have to meet someone, Martha!", he shot back irritated. Next second, he was already out of the garden and into the small forest.

"Martha…', winced one of the other kids. "Where does Jack-san go every night?".

The old dark woman sighted. "I don't know. But he'll certainly come back. So just wait, okay?", she tried to reassure him with a weak smile.

"But…".

"He'll come back. I promise.".

_Jack…_, thought Martha. Despite what she was telling the orphans, she was worried sick. She had a very good idea about were Jack was going. She wasn't blind. She had seen the Mark; and as much as she wanted to deny it, Jack was a Signer, and that was that. _She knew _that Jack was hiding his cards from the others; he was always playing with exactly the same cards and the rest of the deck remained unused. Martha knew for a fact that those cards were tuners and Synchroes. And she knew that all that power had to be released somewhere.

_Now, _said Jack mentally. _Let's show those Hunters who the _real _King is in this island is!_

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

**Author notes: OK, this is the LONGEST thing I have written YET. Don't expect chapters this long every time.**

**As for one of my reviewers, in this fanfic there will be no pairings. Aki is 6 years old and Yusei is 11. Crow is 10 and Jack is 12.**


	3. Author note

Dear Readers,

I apologise deeply for my long absence. I had exams and then a lack of inspiration and then I had no access to my PC for a month due to vacation (I can't save my files on the computer of an _Internet Cafe_!), and now in around a week I will be on vacation again. That is why I haven't updated so far. Hope you can forgive me.

I have to say that my updates will never be fast. I am working on three fanfics at the same time. This one, my fanfic in Greeck and an Yu-Gi-Oh! / Harry Potter crossover that I started working on holiday out of boredom, and I am quite engrossed in it. I won't be updating chapters of that one just yet though. Another problem I will be facing is school. This will be my first year in High School and the educational system in my country hada the Oh! So bright idea to force us poor students to write national exams every year. _They are trying to kick us out of the schools so they don't have to pay the_ _teachers. Bullshit. _Anyway, I won't have much of a free time for writing.

Now the good news. I am already working on the third chapter of Reactor's Children, and I have some VERY good ideas! You only have to be patient! I thank my reviewers, you are wonderfull, even though I only had three of them. I remind you; the story has no pairings. You Yu-Gi-Oh! and Harry Potter crossover fans be alert for the first chapter of my fanfic entitled "The Royal Court". I don't know when I;ll update the first chapter, but I have already prepared four of them and the story is awesome! Please tell everyone of my fanfic! You can find information about it on my profile.

Anyway, that's it!

HelenTheMoon, over and out!


	4. Talus

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5ds.**

**All important author notes at the bottom.**

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

**Chapter 3**

**Talus**

Jack Atlas was running in the streets of Satellite. They were empty, and the already dark from the fog skies had turned even darker due to the sunset. The dim light of the sun was colouring the fog orange, but all that could do was make the atmosphere even heavier.

Some of the few people on the street stared at the fair boy with the white clothing curiously. Others glared at his old, tampered Duel Disk with lust filling their eyes. Others minded their own business. Jack ignored all of them. There was somewhere he needed to be.

And that place was Daedalus Bridge.

It wasn't long before the young Signer reached the port, but the sun had almost set, paiting the fog with a dark purple hue, a menacing colour. Yet the orange hadn't disappeared completely. However, it wasn't the sky that preserved that colour; it was the hair of the boy that was running towards him.

Jack felt a vein pop in his forehead. "You're late!", he yelled at the boy.

Crow stopped dead in his tracks. He then noticed Jack and suddenly his expression was mirroring his. "Huh!? You're late as well, you Jack Ass!".

"What did you say!? The King is **never** late, you birdbrain!".

"As you say, your Majesty.", replied the short boy mockingly.

"Why you…!". Then jack suddenly noticed something. "Is that a new Duel Disk?", he asked Crow in surprise.

"Yeah!", replied Crow, rubbing his fluffy top with embarrassment. "It's a long story, actually…".

"What, you stole it?", shot back Jack irritated.

"Nope, I earned it!", beamed back Crow with a bright grin.

"Riiiight.", answered Jack, his voice full of sarcasm. "_You _dueled a random guy and took his Duel Disk.".

"Pretty much.".

Jack gawked. "SAY _WHAT_!?".

"Oh, come on, pal!", Crow begged. "I didn't use any Synchroes, so no worries! The others have no idea about them! And that other guy _forgot _his Duel Disk, I didn't steal it!".

_Right, and you're planning on handing it back, _Jack thought back sarcastically. Then it struck him. "Wait – _You had audience!?_". He facepalmed. "_**You idiot!**_". That was practically a growl.

"Hey, I had no choice!", complained Crow. "That meatball was saying that he'd take the others' cards!".

_Meatball?_, Jack sweatdropped. "Well, if that's the case…", he calmed down. After all, Jack hated card thieves more than anything. He interrupted his musings and straightened his back. "Now.", he commanded. "We have some duels to win.".

"Right!".

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Yusei and Aki were riding the bike at top speed. "Yusei-nichan, is the Base any close? I'm hungry!", Aki complained.

"It's in the middle of the island.", Yusei replied. "But we won't take too long.", he promised.

"Okay.".

A ringing sound startled the two of them. Yusei with a curious expression picked up his I-phone – one that was of course custom made by no other that himself. "What is it?".

"OK, sorry. Did anything happen with the Reactor?", asked Yusei alarmed.

"Let _what _slide?", Yusei was irritated by now.

"And why are you telling me _now?_".

"Fine, I'll go.", he replied. And with that his closed the phone.

"What is it, Yusei-nichan?", asked Aki curiously.

"Something came up.". Aki scowled. That was what Papa always said. "We will go to the old amusement park. There is something I need to take care of there.".

"The amusement park? I have never been to an amusement park before! Can I come with you?". Yusei chuckled at her excitement.

"None of the rides work.". She pouted. "But I would bring you with me any way.", he smiled. "I can't leave you in the middle of the street.".

"Yay!", cheered Aki. And with that, they turned around.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Crow might have thought that his friends were clueless, but their conversations begged otherwise. That's what Yusei figured after eavesdropping the conversation of the fairly large group he had stumbled upon on his way to the park.

"Hey guys, does anyone think that there is something wrong with Crow's deck? Like _really _wrong.".

"Except from that shockwave?".

"Yeah. I mean, I've never heard of Black Feathers before!".

"I have.", replied a little girl, surprising everyone.

"Really!? What did you hear?".

"That they are the fastest deck. Ever.". _That's very vague, _thought Yusei.

"Well, he did summon quite a lot of monsters there…".

"Who told you that?".

"Some Synchro Hunters.".

"Eh!?".

"It's true! They were talking about a duo that they were chasing! They called the first one 'the Black Bullet' and the second one 'the Demon King'.". Yusei resisted the urge to facepalm. He knew about those two. Crow Hogan and Jack Atlas. They were going after the Synchro Hunters for who-knows-what reasons and raised all sorts of hell in the BAD area. Those idiots! Not only they did not cover their track, they even made names for themselves! _Then again, I'm not one to talk_, he added as an afterthought.

"The Black Bullet and the Fiend King…".

"Hey, where is Crow?".

"Beats me… He _always _runs off at nights…". _And now the bullet is busted._

"One more mystery on the 'Crow Hogan Mystery List'.". Sweatdrops.

"**First!**  
He tells us that that he hasn't got a deck while he does.

**Second!  
**His deck is Black Feathers, which we never heard of.

**Third!  
**He vanishes every night and never tells us where he goes.

**Fourth!  
**He obviously has been affected by the Reactor.

**Fifth!  
**He has his right arm always bandaged but he isn't injured.".

Yusei felt even more awkward. He could literally hear the bullet points. _This guy would make a good politician… I can't decide if that's good or bad… And number four isn't a mystery in the first place!_

"Maybe he is reactor-wounded… It's only reasonable he would hide it. And it explains the shockwave…".

"And the reason he didn't tell us he could duel…".

"But what about the deck? Black Feathers…".

Yusei sighted. It would only be a matter of time before everyone finds out that Crow Hogan was a Synchro user. He turned around and left.

"Yusei-nichan…", asked Aki after a while. "Who is Crow?".

Yusei smirked. "I have a feeling that you're going to find out very soon.".

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

"Em, Jack…", stuttered Crow. "Why did you bring us here?".

Jack resisted the urge to chock him. Why was this fool with his again? Oh, yeah. Because he brought him here. Great. "I told you, there is a Duel gang here that we need to take out.".

"Here of all places!?", cried the boy. Crow did not like this _at all_. I mean, come on! What kind of Duel gang hides in the middle of an abandoned amusement park, full of creepy clowns!?

"Yes, here.". Jack was really losing his patience with that birdbrain. "I heard some weird rumors about their victims disappearing or something.".

"For real!?".

"Yeah.". _Now I'm even more scared…_, cried Crow in his head. _But I'll show Jack that I'm not a chicken!_

The two friends walked into a strange attraction which included some weird vehicle-things. "I wonder what that used to be…", mused Crow.

"How could _I _know?", asked Jack annoyed.

Crow didn't have any time to retort.

"So there they are!", exclaimed a male voice, stopping the two other boys dead in their tracks. Both immediately turned around. The darkness did a good job in hiding the forms of the people who were approaching.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Two… No, three.". Crow nodded in agreement, serious for once.

The guy who apparently was the leader stepped forward, and it didn't take much imagination to see the nasty grin on his face. Normally, this situation would terribly cliché for the two friends. But the marks of both boys twitched weirdly and that was enough indication. "Well, well. Looks like we have two brats tonight do deliver. Who gave you kids those Duel Disks, huh?". The people who appeared themselves didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Some young men, with the leader looking like he was twenty six or so. But that wasn't the important detail about the group.

"Those are…!".

"Duel Academy uniforms!?".

The leader, who was dressed in an Obelisk Blue uniform, stepped forward. "I don't like that a pro like me has to bully some street brats, but orders are orders. Let's see how you do against the Antique G-".

Jack and Crow didn't hear anything further because they were knocked out.

"Antique Gear deck?".

A new person had joined the party.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

For the second time that day, Yusei's phone rang. "D-eh!?". A brief pause. "Do you have any clue who it is? … Testing, huh? Those people are hard to understand. I wish we had a clue what was going on… Eh?… I see… OK. See you later.". And he hung up.

"Did something bad happen?", asked Aki.

"Not really.", answered Yusei, though his smile was a little strained. "We are going straight to the base.". _Besides_, he added in his head, _it would be better to stay away from this…_

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

"Have you people really fallen this low?", asked a female voice, but the question sounded mostly rhetorical.

"Huh!?". The group turned to the owner of the voice. And a single thought ran through their minds. _How in the world did we miss her?_

And really, someone like her should be impossible to miss. She was a woman around her mid forties., but her body-type was like she was in her early thirties. While she did have some wrinkles on her face, they were thin and very difficult to see in the dark, so the only actual indication of her age was her long silver hair. There was only a shade of brown left in them, leaving a somewhat dull impression. Her face was beautiful, a clearly visible but not too strong jawline, somewhat thin with clear and pale skin. Her eyes were dichromatic, one silver and one emerald. She wore an indigo shirt which had a few buttons unbuttoned, a white suit-jacket and white dress pants with black high-heeled boots underneath. On her left arm was a modified New Domino styled Duel Disk, black in colour with emerald decorations and a purple crystal.

"Who's that hag?", sneered one of the Duel Academy boys.

The small confident smile that was on her face disappeared and its place took a small frown. _Painfully oblivious to their surroundings for no other reason than a general feeling of irritation. _"If you are going to insult me at the very least make sure that your insults are accurate. By no means am I old enough to be called a hag.". _More importantly, those kids are both Signers. _"I'll take on all of you.", she announced.

"What!?".

"Hold on a second, hag! Take on all three of us? You can't be serious! You must have decided that this was the most painful way to die or something! There is no way you can beat us all!".

"I shall.".

Her expression was completely neutral, something that caused the leader to growl angrily. Then his smirk turned malicious. "Alright then, hag! Let's see how long you'll last!".

All she did was prepare her Duel Disk.

"The Duel will be in Battle Royale mode. And the person who goes first cannot attack!", declared the leader.

"Fine by me.".

In a second, all four players had five cards in their hand.

"DUEL!".

(Leader – 4000 / player 1 – 4000 / player 2 – 4000 / woman – 4000)

"I'm going first!", announced the leader with a classic bully grin. _Those three are _definitely _working for someone…_, thought the woman hiding a sigh. "Draw!".

(Turn 1: Leader – 4000)

The former Duel Academy student took a look at his hand and smirked. "I activate the spell card Polymerization!". Old and classic, the spell card polymerization, with its water and flames whirlpool looked the same as ever. The hologram made its appearance on the field and shone in a bright light. "And from my hand, I fuse my two Antique Gear Hound-Dogs.". Two mechanical dog-like robots appeared from his hand, their forms swirling around each other as they both sank into a whirlpool of light, identical to the one that was on the Polymerization card. "Fusion Summon! Appear! Antique Gear Double-Bite Hound-Dog!". The new monster looked simple like a two headed version of the old ones, and for a level five monster, its attack was certainly low. (1400/1000)

However the woman wasn't a fool. _Antique Gear Double-Bite Hound-Dog… This card can negate spells and traps while it attacks. And not only that, if that thing stays on the field, every single monster I summon from now on will get a Gear Acid Counter, and that guy will be able to destroy my monsters when he attacks regardless of attack points! _She felt her temperature dropping. _Looks like I had underestimated them…_

"Then I activate Diffusion!".

"Eh?", said the woman in surprise, but it was inaudible.

"I special summon those guys! Two Antique Gear Hound-Dogs!". The two robotic dogs from earlier appeared on the field, both growling at the woman who was starring at their master narrowed-eyed. _People usually use this move when they want to advance summon something. The only card I can think of is… _"I release my two Hound-Dogs to advance summon Antique Gear Golem!". A huge earthquake shook the ground as the two Antique Gear Hound-Dogs turned into rumble. A huge cloud of smoke rose, hiding the view of the field. An eerie red light appeared from behind the smoke; the robotic signature light of the Antique Gear archetype, an indication that the systems that made the new robot had been activated. The cloud of dust slowly settled, and revealed the shadow of a giant. The Antique Gear Golem brought to mind the half-forgotten myths and legends that have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. (3000/3000)

"Holy shit, he brought out a three thousand attack point monster on his first turn!", exclaimed one lackey.

"That's our leader for ya!".

"I set one card face-down and end my turn.", announced the young man.

"Then it's my turn. Draw!"

(turn 2: player 1 – 4000)

"I summon Antique Gear Hound-Dog!". The same dog as before made its appearance. _Seriously, whose idea was to start massive producing those things?_, wondered the woman with a mental facepalm. "Attack directly!". True to the command, the mechanical dog launched itself at the woman fully intend to slit her throat. She merely lifted her duel disk and left the dog bite it instead, seemingly ignoring the pain she was filling, if the loud clang was any indication. (woman: 4000 – 3000)

"I end my turn!".

"My turn!", yelled the second lackey. "Draw!".

(Turn 3: Player 3 – 4000)

"I also summon Antique Gear Hound-Dog. Attack!". Once again, the woman seemingly ignored the incoming damage. (woman: 3000 – 2000)

The three Duel Academy duelists burst into laughter. "What's wrong, hag? Did your years start getting into you and you forgot how to duel? You might as well give up now!".

"My turn.", replied the woman smoothly, ignoring the taunts of her opponents.

Said opponents flinched nervously, as the older woman's calm started getting into them. "What's with her…?".

"Draw!".

(turn 4: woman – 2000)

"There is an ancient legend…", she started, earning herself many confused stares "…of a great mechanical giant crafted by the gods, who once used the infinity strength the blood of the gods granted to him to protect a rich and prosperous island from all foes. One day however, a man who once tricked the gods themselves tried to enter the island. And he said this to the giant; _If you remove the tape on your foot and let the blood of the gods flow out, you will become immortal. _The gigantic robot believed the liar, removed the tape, let the blood flow out, and died.".

"What are you blabbering about!?", snapped the leader.

"I activate the field spell, Photon Pressure World!". And the world truly transformed. The duelists found themselves in space, with various meteorites floating around them and the galaxy glittering somewhere in the distance. Everything seemed to give off an ethereal glow.

Everyone, save for the woman, seemed to have the same thought. _I've never heard of this card before…_

"Next; since there are no monsters on my field, I can special summon Photon Slasher from my hand.". The ring of light got formed in the air and a humanoid creature jumped from there and landed on its position on the field. The figure was blue and orange, with stardust glittering under its skin. It also held a long, curved sword in one hand, similar in design with the creature itself. (2100/0)

"Twenty one hundred attack point!?".

"I activate Photon Pressure World's effect.", she announced. "When a Photon monster is summoned or special summoned, all players who do not have a Photon monster on their field take damage equal to the level of the summoned monster multiplied by a hundred.". Just as she was finished, a white light sparkled from above for a second before a meteorite crushed all the male duelists.

(Leader: 4000 – 3600)

(Player 1: 4000 – 3600)

(Player 2: 4000 – 3600)

"Next, I summon Photon Cerberus.". True to its name, a three headed dog-like creature made its entrance, the same ethereal glitter as before underneath its skin. "Photon Cerberus is level three.". A second meteorite appeared, once again slamming on the players.

(Leader: 3600 – 3300)

(Player 1: 3600 – 3300)

(Player 2: 3600 – 3300)

"Then, I activate the spell card Photon Lead.". The ex-Duel Academy student recognized the Angel on the picture from somewhere, but he didn't ponder on it. What he actually cared about was the card's effect. "This card allows me to special summon a level four or bellow light attribute monster from my hand. I special summon Photon Crusher.". The spell card transformed into yet another one of the glowing gates and a humanoid bulky creature in glowing armor with an even bigger and more sparkly weapon appeared. (2000/0)

The other could only gaze in terror at the sight of a third meteorite crushing down yet another portion of their life points.

(Leader: 3300 – 2900)

(Player 1: 3300 – 2900)

(Player 2: 3300 – 2900)

By that point the woman's intention had become clear. She was planning to burn them down.

With her bangs shadowing her eyes, the old woman picked another card from somewhere. She raised it over her head, and the card shone in a blinding light. "I overlay my level four Photon Crusher and Photon Slasher!".

"WHAT!?".

The two monsters turned into yellow, spirit light masses of light and launched themselves on the air. "And with those two Photon monsters, I now construct the Overlay Network.". The two beams of light swirled inside a whirlpool that had appeared on the ground; no- a galaxy in all its glory. The three young men could only watch in wonder. "Raise your sword of Justness, divine ruler of the galaxy! With your great courage give to the fallen warriors the glory of all the stars under your command! XYZ summon!". The galaxy exploded in a burst of light and a vague shape made its appearance. "Rank four! Radiant Light Emperor, Galaxion!". Its appearance made a glorious angel-like swordsman. The creature's main body was a royal blue, and its armor was white as marble with gold decorations. The emperor's wing-like appendages were glowing in the same glittering stardust as all the previous monsters, and it held one sword on each hand, made from the same light. There were two yellow orbs of light orbiting around the monster, like satellites dancing around their planet. (2000/2100)

"What.".

"The fuck.".

"Is that.".

The woman ignored them. "I activate Galaxion's special ability. Once per turn, by detaching two Overlay units-", the woman picked the cards of Photon Slasher and Crusher that were under the new monster and sent them to the Graveyard, but all the others noticed was the two orbs of light being absorbed by the gigantic swordsman "I can special summon this card from my deck.". A card sprouted out of her deck and with her bangs hiding her face once again, she raised the new card above her head and it shone in a blinding light, once again causing everyone to hide their eyes. One of the duelists wondered if she did those dramatics in order to protect her eyes by not having visual contact with the card; which was most probably the case.

"Behold at the sight of the embodiment of light, and feel its righteous wrath in your bones!". A red, boomerang-like weapon appeared in her hand and she threw it above her head. The weapon started spinning and gathering light. "Descend! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!". Another explosion of light, this time by the boomerang. A vague shape started forming, and it quickly revealed itself to be a dragon. A huge futuristic dragon in black armor that glowed like a star before turning completely black. (3000/2500)

"Woah…".

"Photon Pressure World's effect. Galaxy-Eyes is level eight.".

(Leader: 2900 – 2100)

(Player 1: 2900 – 2100)

(Player 2: 2900 – 2100)

"Battle!", she announced, shocking the others, who finally came to realize the situation. They were currently faced down be three monsters, and two of them had two and three thousand attack points each, and half their life points having been wiped out. "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack Antique Gear Hound-Dog!". The lackey prepared himself for the impact, but- "Galaxy-Eyes' special ability. Both it and the battling monster are removed from play!". And the monsters vanished. The three duelists blinked dumbfounded, but the woman didn't give them time to regain their bearings. "Photon Cerberus, direct attack!".

"I activate Mirror Force!", yelled the leader, revealing his facedown. _She must have a plan, removing her most powerful monster from play like that! I can't let her attack continue! _"All of your mon-".

"Pointless.".

"Come again?".

"The turn Photon Cerberus is normal summoned, as long as its face-up on the field, no players can activate Trap cards.".

"Say what!?".

The attack hit, leaving the lackey panting for breath. (Player 1: 2100 – 800)

"Galaxion attacks Antique Gear Hound-Dog.". The mechanical dog dissolved into light particles, damaging the owner. (Player 2: 2100 – 1100)

"End of battle phase.", she stated. "And because it is, Galaxy-Eyes' effect returns both it and the other monster to the field.". Just like the two monsters disappeared earlier, they re-appeared. "Photon Pressure World's effect.". The eyes of the tree duelists widened in fear as they realized the exact reason as to why the woman had banished her most powerful monster. She pointed her finger at the first lackey. "_You _are finished!". A brilliant meteorite hit them from above, knocking the first lackey out.

(Leader: 2100 – 1300)

(Player 1: 800 – 0 **LOSE**)

(Player 2: 1100 – 300)

"I set one card facedown and end my turn.", she stated calmly.

"No frigging way…", muttered the remaining lackey.

"My turn, draw!", announced the leader.

(Turn 5: Leader – 1300)

"I activate the spell card, Lightning Vortex!". Yet another very old card with the image of yellow lightning striking the ground appeared on the field. The card, instead of shining, it cracked with electricity. "By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy all monsters on your field!".

"Yes!", yelled the lackey. With this Leader can finish her off right now!".

Lightning identical to the one of the card image appeared from above and struck all the monsters on the woman's field, leaving behind vanishing pixels and a wide open field. "Battle!".

"Before that!", cut him off the woman.

"What now!?", snapped the young man.

Then the unbelievable happened. She _smiled_. "I told you, didn't I? It was trickery that defeated the great mechanical giant.". Her smile was replaced by a fierce expression. "I reveal my facedown! Lightning Vortex!".

"WHAT!?", he demanded.

"She had the same card as Leader set _facedown_!?".

"I discard Photon Serpent! And because you have yet to commence Battle phase, your Antique Gear Golem and his Antique Gear Hound-Dog are both destroyed!". Lightning cracked out of nowhere, and stuck both robots creating an incredible and terrifying light show. "Photon Serpent's special ability!", she sounded somewhere behind the lights and noise. "When this card is sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can special summon in on the field!".

Nobody noticed the glowing form of the sharp-fanged snake, but they did notice the consequences of its summoning. "Photon Serpent is level three. Photon Pressure World activates!". The lightning that was still torturing the two mechanical monsters extended towards the two duelists, striking them both and letting them suffer the wrath of Photon Pressure World this way instead.

(Leader: 1300 – 1000)

(Player 2: 300 – 0 **LOSE**)

The lackey collapsed. The two machines and the lightning had vanished. The young man remaining had fallen on his knees. "I…", he gasped "I end my turn.".

_I still have a chance to win,_ was what he was thinking. _That woman's hand is zero! Unless she draws something that can get rid of Mirror Force, It's over for her!_

The woman seemed to be thinking something like that too. "My turn.". She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate on her deck. _Worrying will result to nothing. _"Draw!".

And she drew.

(Turn 6: woman – 2000)

She took a look at the card and she smiled. "I play the spell card Hurricane! All spells and traps are returned to their owners' hands!". Gone was the glorious Field Spell, leaving nothing but an abandoned attraction behind. But so was her opponent's facedown. "Photon Serpent, direct attack!". The snake bared its fangs and lunged at the male duelists.

(Leader: 1000 – 0 **LOSE**)

(**WINNER**: woman)

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

"I defeated them. Go home.".

"Roger that.". With a sigh Yusei once again turned off the line.

"Yusei-nichan…", muttered Aki worried. "What is happening?".

"It's better if you don't know.", replied Yusei with a sad look.

"But…!".

Yusei closed his eyes, debating whether he should tell her or not. He decided for the former. "There are some people who are after is Synchro users not because they hate Synchro monsters but because somebody told them.".

"Somebody told them to chase us? Why?".

"I don't know. But there are some _other_ duelists whi chase after them because they have history or something.".

"What does 'have history' mean?".

_Oh yeah, right. Aki-chan is six years old. She can't possibly know all figures of speech yet. _"It means that they have done some bad things to each other. I don't know what exactly happened and nobody's telling us so I can't do anything.".

"I see…". Aki may be just a little girl but she was far from stupid and she knew that Yusei couldn't help the good people if he didn't even know who the good people were and what was the problem. So she let it be.

None of the two children knew that one day they would be involved in the conflicts either way.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

Water splashed on his face. "Oi. Wake up.".

The young man that used to be a student of the Duel Academy stirred awake at the sound of a female voice. The voice of the woman who had just defeated him and the others singly-handedly. He jolted awake.

"I have a few questions for you.", she stated, her face frozen. The man tried to retort but then he caught sight of an object that wasn't there before. A one-meter and twenty centimeters long sword made from a strange blue metal with a shining white crystal-thing and glowing red engravings along the length of the blade. He shut it immediately.

"Who are you working for?".

"Wha-what are you talking about?", he laughed nervously.

"Antique Gear decks don't sprout out of nowhere. For you brats to have such cards in Satellite of all places it means that someone gave them to you.".

"I really don't know!".

"And you expect me to believe that?".

"It's true! Some guy gave us those decks and told us that if we eliminate enough Synchro users he will get us out of Satellite!".

_Out of Satellite, huh? Not many people have _that _authority. _"Did he give any names?".

"No…".

"What about your Duel Disks. Were they modified or something?".

"He said he put a tracking device to check our progress…".

"So that's how it is…".

When the man woke up, he was at an unknown building, with no deck and no Duel Disk.

**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**

The two boys grunted as they stirred awake. Jack tried to shift into a sitting position but to no avail. A wave of dizziness came over his and distorted his vision, causing his to fall back on the ground. The two boys were surprised to see that while they were still at the amusement park, someone had changed their location to a safer and more covered one. And more importantly…

"There is no-one here…".

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**Author notes****: Yes, I'm alive! My deepest apologizes for abandoning this fic for so long. There was a huge plot gap, but thankfully Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V came in the frame and said gap has been covered! I hope you don't mind that this has practically turned into a cross-over. The Zexal reference was very obvious, I know. I was originally planning for my OC to use Dragunity, but I have no idea how that deck works!**

**As for my OC, you who are also reading my fanfic 'The Royal Court' have realized who that OC is, right?**

**As for the crossover part, nothing of the Arc-V cannon has happened yet in this timeline so there won't be any characters from there.**

**The myth I was writing about is the Greek legend of the mechanical giant Talus who was crafted by the god Hephaestus and protected Crete. As for the liar, if I remember correctly, he was a man named Sisyphus who had tried to trick the gods many times, including Death (whom he imprisoned for a while), and even serving to the twelve gods of Olympus at some point his own son for dinner. I don't remember why he was trying to get to Crete though…**

**PLEASE REVIEW.**

**ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE WILL BE ANSWERED ONLY IF YOU ASK ME!**


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